MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sometimes it takes older, more experienced players like Jared Bartlett to remind us what truly matters most in the game of football. And despite the many advancements in the game, this really hasn't changed much since the days of Walter Camp more than a century ago.
 
Yes, it's important to embrace new technologies and methods, and yes, it's important to consider analytics and other forms of information gathering to help with decision making, but the game of football still boils down to its basic aspects of blocking and tackling.
 
Coach Neal Brown has talked repeatedly this spring about his guys becoming better fundamental football players, and you are also hearing it from his assistant coaches and players.
 
Bartlett began his Thursday afternoon visit with the media by talking about the fundamentals of hand placement, shedding blocks and gap responsibility. He said those are the things about which he's been most concerned.
 
According to Bartlett, if you can't cover your gap, you can't get off blocks and you can't tackle in space, it's really difficult to become a good defense.
 
"When you have players all doing their job – we have a saying called '1/11^th' – and playing your 1/11^th and doing your job is how you become a better defense," the Collins Hill (Ga.) High product explained.
 
As one of the older players in the program, Jared knows of what he speaks. He played on the 2020 Mountaineer defense that ranked fourth in the country allowing just 291.4 yards per game. His contributions to that effort as a sophomore were 3½ sacks and 5½ tackles for losses.
 
In 2021, the defense slipped to 349.8 yards per game and last year the Mountaineers surrendered 412.3 yards per contest - clearly not up to anyone's standards.
 
Bartlett believes last year was a matter of several inexperienced players being forced into action, not mastering their individual techniques and not executing the basic fundamentals of football.
 
"You can definitely tell there are more experienced guys now; guys are getting more confident in how they play, and it's really exciting to see guys taking the next step and growing as players," he said.
 
"There is a saying, 'Greatness is mundane.' Working on fundamentals can get really tedious, but you know at the end of the day that's what is going to get you where you want to be," Bartlett explained. "It can be difficult at times because you are doing the same thing over and over again, but it's strengthening your weaknesses, that's all it is."
 
Bartlett believes the strength of this year's defense so far was perhaps one of its biggest detriments last year – tackling. He said this year's unit is going to be much better getting ball carriers to the ground, particularly in the open field.
 
"We have really focused on that this spring, and you can see that in the way that we practice. Guys are flying around more because everyone knows what to do," he explained. "The thing is, you don't get better at tackling by not tackling, so you've got to focus on that."
 
Bartlett also believes this year's defense is going to excel at pressuring the quarterback, despite losing All-Big 12 First Team defensive tackle Dante Stills to graduation.
 
Despite not having Stills on the defense, Bartlett maintains more guys will have to be involved, from the interior defensive linemen to the edge pass rushers and second-level defenders.
 
"I think a lot of guys need to carry more weight now, to put it plainly. And we have the guys and the depth to do that," he said.

According to Bartlett, to have an effective pass rush, all parts must be working together. He explains.
 
"I think pass rushing in general is pretty conjoined," the Miami resident says. "If you have a guy on the edge that's rushing up the field, the quarterback can just step up and that makes it difficult to get sacks and if you have guys in the middle getting pressure than the quarterback just goes outside. It's a mutual relationship between the two."
 
Bartlett, now a rock-solid 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds, says the most important aspect of pass rushing is not necessarily getting sacks but rather affecting the quarterback, whether that's getting pressure on him or hitting him.
 
"Sacks are a premium, so if sacks were the main outcome, the top pass rushers in the world would have like 40 sacks a year," he explained. "As long you affect the quarterback, that's what matters."
 
As for some of the younger players on this year's defense, Bartlett said he's been impressed with 6-foot-2, 225-pound freshman edge rusher James Heard Jr.
 
Heard was named South Jersey's Defensive Player of the Year by Camden's Courier Post after producing an 18-sack senior season at Camden High. He was also a first team all-state choice and was considered one of the top 20 recruits in the Garden State.
 
"I like James a lot. He's got active hands and really good get-off, and I think he's going to really come on and be a nice player," Bartlett predicted. "I would say, fundamentally, he's pretty sound. The experience aspect … he's still really a high schooler, but after the spring, coming into the fall and into the season I think he's going to be a lot better and ready to contribute."
 
And his advice to Heard?
 
"You can't bull-rush a 315-pound tackle," he laughed. "It just doesn't work, especially when you are only 220. That's the thing. You've got to make mistakes and learn from them. That's how you grow as a player."
 
Others who have caught Bartlett's attention this spring include defensive tackles Mike Lockhart and Hammond Russell IV, true freshman linebacker Ben Cutter, sophomore safety Jairo Faverus and sophomore corner Andrew Wilson-Lamp.
 
As regular Mountaineer performer the last four seasons, Bartlett realizes it is now his obligation to become more of a team leader this year. It's a role he said he is embracing.
 
"I probably have the most experience of anyone, and it's going to take me being a leader and bringing some guys along," he said. "It's definitely a role I've got to grow in to, but I think I'm growing into it nicely.
 
"I'm more of an action-speaks-louder-than-words kind of guy, but we're definitely a lot better than we were last year," he concluded.
 
West Virginia has no on-field work scheduled for today and will resume spring work on Saturday morning with a closed scrimmage inside the stadium. Coach Neal Brown will be made available to the media afterward to recap the scrimmage.